Willard School's Noone named Sanford's 'Teacher of the Year'

By Ellen W. ToddSanford News Writer

Thursday

Jan 29, 2009 at 3:15 AM

SANFORD — It takes a special kind of person to teach sixth grade.

It takes a person who looks forward to spending her day with 22 individuals who are working hard to negotiate their path from childhood to the responsibilities and privileges of adulthood — and to teach them math, science, social studies and language arts besides.

Barbara Noone, who has been named Sanford's 2009 — 2010 Teacher of the Year, is that kind of person.

Noone has been teaching sixth grade at Willard School for 18 years and still looks forward to going to work every morning.

"They're fun," she said of her sixth graders. "They're old enough to have a sense of humor, they can take a joke, and they're very honest. They are just starting to figure out what they want to be."

Noone is the kind of teacher who goes above and beyond her responsibilities as a classroom teacher. She is a mentor to fellow teachers and a role model to teachers as well as students, many of whom continue to come back to visit her through their high school years and beyond.

"We're very proud of her," said Willard School Principal Chuck Potter.

Potter said he often tells teachers, "We touch students across distance and time." Noone has always exemplified that, he said. Her philosophy has always been to look at each student as a whole person, not to view them just from the perspective of a teacher or think of them in terms of how they're doing in math or reading.

"I think they almost see her as a substitute parent," Potter said.

She had no trouble implementing the school curriculum's focus on children's social and emotional learning, he said, adding, "It was natural for her."

Noone makes a strong impression on her students.

"I have kids coming back all the time from high school," she said in an interview last week. Some continue to come to see her even after that to tell her what they are doing or ask her advice.

Her teaching partner at Willard School, Adam Bellefeuille, said he is "struck by the number... of former students who return... on a regular basis. It is amazing to me to think that, indeed, 24- and 25-year-old adults still remember their sixth grade teacher and still hold her in such high regard that they would want to seek her advice in a crisis or to share a successful or powerful moment in their lives."

Another teacher who contributed to Noone's nomination for Teacher of the Year wrote of her dedicated service on committees "which has not only helped Barbara professionally, but has helped other teachers and students as well."

Noone has served on the MOST Committee, an assessment committee, and was an original member of the Writing Committee, through which she attended workshops and training sessions, bringing a wealth of information back to Willard School. She is currently on the school district's Safety Committee and is the grade level coordinator for sixth grade.

Willard Librarian Nancy Shufelt, who has worked with Noone for several years, called the selection of Noone "a very well deserved honor. She's one of the hardest working, caring teachers we have. She doesn't hesitate to go above and beyond for staff and students."

In addition to her dedication to her students and fellow teachers and to education in general, Noone has also taken on the responsibility of advocating for her colleagues as vice president of the Sanford Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the union that represents Sanford's teachers. Noone is also president of the statewide organization, AFT — Maine.

Noone said it was "wicked exciting" to learn she had been named Sanford's Teacher of the Year.

"And it's exciting for the school," she added. "As a group, there isn't a more hard-working group of people," she said of her colleagues at Willard School.

"I think it's a wonderful selection," said Potter. "She's a good role model; she's a strong woman role model."

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